News that institutional and large-scale investors are allocating more to UK residential property, with investment into the private rental sector continuing to grow, has been welcomed by PLATFORM_, a build-to-rent developer-operator.

Jean-Marc Vandevivere, PLATFORM_’s chief executive and former head of residential at British Land, said the Investment Property Forum’s sixth annual survey “confirms a broader trend by UK institutions towards socially beneficial, defensive investments.”

The PLATFORM_ CEO also said it was “unsurprising” institutional and large-scale investors were looking at UK resi as it “has outperformed every other asset class since the end of World War Two” and increasing interest in build-to-rent (BTR) was “good news for UK renters”.

PLATFORM_ has 580 BTR units under management, and is committed to securing another 5,000 within its first five years.

Jean-Marc Vandevivere, CEO of PLATFORM_, said:

“With traditional investments underperforming and interest rates at the lowest they have ever been, it’s unsurprising that institutional and other large-scale investors are turning to UK residential property, which has outperformed every other asset class since the end of World War Two.

“The good news for UK renters is an increasing amount of the money deployed is going towards build-to-rent – clusters of purpose-built, professionally managed apartments designed specifically for rent, typically with on-site amenity and shared spaces. While the inclusion of amenities and communal areas is relatively novel, the basic concept is not: institutions such as pension funds and insurers built, own and managed large quantums of rental housing at the turn of the 20th century.

“For the investors, the counter-cyclical nature of build-to-rent – people are more likely to rent during a downturn – is increasingly attractive and today’s news confirms a broader trend by UK institutions towards socially beneficial, defensive investments.”